AN inmate who fled a prison van after it was held up by two armed men while on its way to a Worcestershire jail "took advantage of someone else's escape plan", a court has heard.

Craig Hickinbottom, 24, admitted fleeing from the van while being taken to Blakenhurst Prison in September last year, but claimed he did not arrange the escape plan.

Sentencing him for three-and-a-half years in prison, Judge Trevor Faber told Birmingham Crown Court: "This was a carefully planned and executed escape plan."

Describing it as one of the most serious escape cases to reach the courts, he said: "It hits at the heart of the custodial system. It plainly creates fear and apprehension among custodial staff."

The court heard that Hickinbottom was being driven by the Reliance van from Redditch Magistrates' Court to the prison on September 27 when an Audi car blocked its path.

Two men, both wearing balaclavas and one armed with a handgun and the other a baseball bat, jumped out and threatened the two security guards.

Fearing for his life, one of the guards opened the hatch inside the van and Hickinbottom jumped out, the court heard.

Hickinbottom, who is serving a five-year sentence for two armed robberies committed in 2002, was arrested at a house in Smethwick eight days later.

Hickinbottom, who has a string of previous convictions for various crimes including one for an attempted escape, pleaded guilty to the escape but claimed on a basis of plea that he was not involved in planning it.

The defendant, whose last known address was Sedge Drive in Bromsgrove, also claimed that he was not aware of firearms being used.

His plea, which he entered on January 24, was accepted by the prosecution.